Non-library users … don’t overthink it
Since I started four years ago the two most well-read articles I have written on this library-focused blog are about people who don’t use libraries!
Who doesn’t use public libraries and why? (17 February 2022, https://www.analibraryse.com/blog/who-doesnt-use-public-libraries-and-why )
How do you engage and attract library non-users? (28 February 2022, https://www.analibraryse.com/blog/how-do-you-engage-and-attract-library-non-users).
So as promised, I am going to devote a little more time this year thinking about the people who don’t currently use libraries.
To start with I pulled all the survey data we have on non-users. Invariably when we’re running a community survey for a library service there is an expectation that we have both a survey for people who use the library and one for people who don’t. As you can imagine we get hundreds of responses to the first survey (library lovers love their library) and hardly any to the second one (these people don’t use a library so they’re not pre-disposed to voluntarily and without incentive complete a survey about a service they don’t use). That said, I have managed to lump together more than 350 survey responses from non-users in seven different metropolitan and rural areas in two states (Victoria and WA). It’s not perfect, it’s not pure data, sometimes the questions we asked varied a little bit, but it’s what I’ve got. And what I know from years as a statistician is that however messy the data is it will still probably shine a little light on the question at hand.
So we asked library non-users to identify the main reasons why they don’t use a public library, and then we asked them what would have to change to make them more likely to use their library. Here are the results for the 20% of survey respondents who said the main barrier to library use was ACCESS - inconvenient location, inconvenient opening hours, poor disability access.
Astounding! People who have a problem with access to libraries think that, more than anything else, having longer or different opening hours might make them more likely to use a library. I’d never have guessed that in a million years!
[Nerd Note: This is one of the great things about data and statistics. 80% of the time the data tells you what you already know, or what you believe to be true. That’s because most of the time we live in the real world and reach conclusions based on what we observe happening around us. The statistics are just a way of quantifying that, and therefore (most of the time) reinforce our own (qualitative) conclusions.]
I wonder what the 30% of people who said they don’t use libraries because they DON’T KNOW much about what services public libraries have to offer them would say? Well, once again in an earth-shattering insight the thing that would be most likely to motivate this group to use a library would be … drum-roll … knowing more about library services!
By now you have probably worked out how this game is being played. So what about the non-users who don’t think a library looks like a place they want to go, who DON”T FEEL COMFORTABLE at a library, or had a bad experience in a library once before. It’s not as clear cut as the last two, but for this cohort the No. 1 answer is to make the library a more welcoming place. And that might involve running some relevant programs and having friendly library staff and nice buildings.
The last group of non-users I have here is the 50% who say they have OTHER OPTIONS, in that they access books, DVDs, internet and information elsewhere. This group is quite different to the other three in that there is no stand-out response that will bring them into the library. It might be information or programs or collections or access … it’s just not clear. They have and use different options. They would respond to different approaches. Which is why the task of attracting this group is more complicated than for other non-user groups – they are not an homogeneous group.
Which is precisely my point. People who don’t use public libraries are not a homogeneous group. In the same way that we don’t think of library users as all being the same – young families vs secondary/tertiary students vs online readers vs older people looking for a book and a connection – we shouldn’t lump non-users into a single group and throw our hands up and say it’s all too hard.
People who can’t get to a library when it’s open would benefit from different opening hours or alternative modes of access.
People who don’t know what a library has to offer would benefit from having some information about library services.
People who, for whatever reason, don’t want or need to use a library are probably best left alone – at least for now.
This may not be the most startling revelation I’ve come to in 20 years working with libraries, but in practical terms it does help to focus the mind.
Before I go can I point you to one other piece of data from these charts. Look at the bottom bar in each chart. The proportion of respondents who would NOT use a public library is around or less than 10% for the first three non-user groups, and a little higher but still only 18% for the Other Option group. These people took time to fill out a survey about a library. And with the right incentive they would come. If you want to grow use of your library there is a market there to be tapped – you just have to approach them with the right product/message.